Page 37 - Israel-palestine

Global uprisings: Protests and movements which shook the world in 2024

Kenya's cost-of-living crisis, to martial law in South Korea. Here's a look at major protests that erupted across the globe in 2024

Israel increasing grants to local authorities by hundreds of millions

And starting in 2025, 300 million Shekels ($81.52 million) will be added to the budget base

Behind the dismantling of Hezbollah: Decades of Israeli intelligence

Worried that the operation would be exposed, top intelligence officials persuaded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to give the order to detonate them

Netanyahu undergoes prostate removal amid crises on multiple fronts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is having his prostate removed on Sunday, his office said, a procedure that comes as he manages multiple crises at once, including the ongoing war in Gaza and his own trial for alleged corruption. Netanyahu, 75, is among a cohort of older world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, 82, and President-elect Donald Trump, 78, whose health and physical fitness are under deep scrutiny both at home and abroad because of their advanced age and the effect that could have on their leadership. Netanyahu, who has had a string of health issues in recent years, has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a fully healthy, energetic leader. During his trial this month he boasted about working 18-hour days, even if those long hours are accompanied by a cigar. But as Israel's longest-serving leader, such a grueling workload over a total of 17 years in power could also take a toll on his well-being. The procedure has already had a .

Israel detains director of one of Gaza's last functioning hospitals

Israel's army detained the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals as overnight strikes elsewhere in the territory killed nine people, including children, Palestinian medical officials said on Saturday. Israel's military alleged that Hamas militants were using the facility and said over 240 people were detained. Gaza's Health Ministry said Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested on Friday along with dozens of other staff and taken to an interrogation centre. The ministry said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather, according to the ministry. Israel's military on Saturday confirmed it detained the hospital director and called him a suspected Hamas operative while providing no evidence. It said it encircled the hospital and special forces entered and found weapons in the area. It said militants fired on its forces and they were eliminated. On Friday, t

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen airport as jet was landing: UN official

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a UN delegation was waiting to leave, the UN's top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told UN reporters that the most frightening thing about the two airstrikes on Thursday wasn't their effect on him and about 15 others in the VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, including the head of the UN World Health Organisation. Rather, it was the destruction of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after touching down. Fortunately, that plane was able to land safely and the passengers were able to disembark, but it could have been far, far worse, said Harneis, who was with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the lounge. He said one airstrike landed approximately 300 metres (330 yards) south of the VIP lounge and another about 300 metres to the north around 4:45 pm, while abo

Israeli army forcibly removes staff, patients from Gaza hospital: Officials

Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather, the territory's health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or set fire to the complex and accused Hamas of using the facility for cover. Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times over the past three months by Israeli troops waging an offensive against Hamas fighters in surrounding neighbourhoods, according to staff. The ministry said a strike on the hospital a day earlier killed five medical staff. Israel's military said it was conducting operations against Hamas infrastructure and militants in the area and had ordered people out of the hospital, but said it had not entered the complex as of Friday night. It repeated claims that Hamas militants operate inside Kamal Adwan but provided no evidence. Hospital officials have denied that. The Health Ministry said troops forced medical personnel and patients to ..

Israeli strike kills 5 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, say officials

An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said early Thursday. The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network, which also reported the strike. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel is battling Hamas nearly 15 months after the militant group launched a surprise attack into southern Israel. Israel says it only targets militants and tries to spare civilians, but the daily strikes often kill women and children.

Israel seized 85K Hezbollah weapons in Southern Lebanon operations

"The weapons confiscated were used by Hezbollah and were intended to harm the citizens of the State of Israel, IDF said

Israel, Hamas accuse each other of complicating ceasefire talks in Qatar

Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts on Wednesday, as the two sides inch closer to a deal that could wind down the 14-month war in Gaza. The two sides appear closer than they have been in months to reaching an agreement that would bring home dozens of hostages being held in Gaza. However, talks have come close before, only to collapse. Although Israel and Hamas have expressed optimism that progress was being made toward a deal, sticking points remain over the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, people involved in the talks say. On Wednesday, Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions related to the withdrawal from Gaza, the prisoners and the return of displaced people, which it said was delaying the deal. Israel's government accused Hamas of reneging on reneging on understandings that have already been reached. Still, both sides said discussions are ongoing. Israel's negotiating tea

Cities worldwide hold subdued Christmas Eve celebrations amid conflicts

Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70 per cent of Bethlehem's income almost all from the Christmas season. The number of visitors to Bethlehem plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in

Israeli raid and airstrikes in West Bank kill at least 8 Palestinians

At least eight people were killed by Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank around the city of Tulkarem on Tuesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, including three people it said were killed by Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of some uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a second somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of the war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war with Israel are struggling to protect

Israel intercepts projectile launched from Yemen, former hostage dies

A septuagenarian Israeli woman who was taken hostage during Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 0ctober 7, 2023 has died. She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian militant group took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead. Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen. Here's the latest: A former Israeli hostage dies at 78 Tel Aviv Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78. The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed the death on Tuesday but did not disclose the cause. Her daughter, Carmit P

Israel confirms killing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, warns Houthis

Israel's defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas' top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has acknowledged killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July. Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement. In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh. He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria's Bashar Assad and destroyed Iran's anti-aircraft systems. We will strike (the Houthis') strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership, he said. Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa, he said, referring t

Israel's airstrikes on Gaza kill at least 20, say Palestinian medics

Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20 people. One of the strikes overnight and into Monday hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children. That's according to the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Hospital records show another six killed in a strike on people securing an aid convoy and another two killed in a strike on a car in Muwasi. One person was killed in a separate strike in the area. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah said three bodies arrived after an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. The Israeli military says it only strikes militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians. It said late Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas militant in the humanitarian zone. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, ..

Bethlehem plans another somber Christmas under the shadow of war in Gaza

The Nativity Store in Manger Square has sold handmade olive wood carvings and religious items to people visiting the traditional birthplace of Jesus since 1927. But as Bethlehem prepares to mark its second Christmas under the shadow of the war in Gaza, there are almost no tourists, leaving the Nativity Store and other businesses unsure of how much longer they can hold on. For the second straight year, Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations will be somber and muted, in deference to ongoing war in Gaza. There will be no giant Christmas tree in Manger Square, no raucous scout marching bands, no public lights twinkling and very few public decorations or displays. Last year before Christmas, we had more hope, but now again we are close to Christmas and we don't have anything, said Rony Tabash, the third-generation owner of Nativity Store. Israel's war against Hamas has been raging for nearly 15 months, and there still is no end in sight. Repeated ceasefire efforts have stalled. Since the wa

Ex-Israeli spies describe attack using exploding devices against Hezbollah

Two recently retired senior Israeli intelligence agents shared new details about a deadly clandestine operation years in the making that targeted Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria using exploding pagers and walkie talkies three months ago. Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. The agents spoke with CBS 60 Minutes in a segment aired Sunday night. They wore masks and spoke with altered voices to hide their identities. One agent said the operation started 10 years ago using walkie-talkies laden with hidden explosives, which Hezbollah didn't realise it was buying from Israel, its enemy. The walkie-talkies were not detonated until September, a day after booby-trapped pagers were set off. We created a pretend world, said the officer, who went by the name Michael. Phase two of the plan, using the booby-trapped pagers, kicked in in 2022 after Israel's Mossad intelligence agency learned Hezbollah had b

Fresh Israeli strikes across Gaza kill 22 as Vatican envoy visits region

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 20 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said. Israeli authorities meanwhile allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory's small Christian community. A strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza City killed at least eight people, including three children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The Civil Defense, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government, had earlier said four children were among those killed. The Israeli military said it carried out a precise strike on Hamas militants sheltering there. A strike on a home in the central city of Deir al-Balah late Saturday killed at least eight people, including three women and two children, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. A man and his wife were .

Rocket fired from Yemen hit Tel Aviv, 16 injured: Israeli military

A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians. A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said. The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify. The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israe

Over 2 million people remain trapped in Gaza's dire conditions: UNRWA

UNRWA reported that worsening weather conditions in recent days are expected to continue